Moving mansions - hot property at the top end of town

IT'S the holiday rental home of choice for the likes of Nicole Kidman, The Rolling Stones, U2 and actor John Cleese when they're in town.

With five bedrooms, a guest house and direct access to the beach, Kalua, a plantation-inspired home, offers privacy, seclusion and stunning ocean views.

The property, at 37 Ocean Rd Palm Beach, was also the top sale of 2012, sold to retired car dealer Laurie Sutton for $22 million after 214 days on the market, $3 million less than the original asking price.

The past 12 months has seen super-rich buyers take advantage of a heavily discounted Sydney market to secure their trophy homes.

The second highest sale was, coincidentally, Mr Sutton's former home - a waterfront mansion at 10 Bay St, Mosman, sold to Chinese buyers for $20 million after 654 days on the market. According to industry sources, the deal was "shrouded in mystery".

Also in Mosman, 17 Mandolong Rd commanded third place for 2012, sold by the family of Sydney Swans player Lewis Roberts-Thomson to Markus Kahlbetzer for $18 million.

Unlike other high-end homes, which can be up for sale for some time, especially in flat markets, the luxurious home bucked the trend and shifted in just 23 days.

Raine & Horne Mosman agent Brendan Warner said the five-bedroom, six bathroom property had only been on the market twice in the past 75 years.

"It's one of Mosman's original homes that's been renovated to the nth degree," he said.

The east's top sale was $13.5 million for a coastal mansion at 16 Longworth Ave, Point Piper, sold by yachtsman George Snow to the Haifer family after passing in at auction for $16.1 million the previous year.

Pillinger's Brad Pillinger said the property was one of six with direct access to Lady Martins beach, along with Harbour views and luxury interiors.

His late father Ron Pillinger had handled two previous sales of the home.

"I remember him picking me up after sport and taking me to this house and I played with kids on the beach while he listed the property," he said.

"It didn't resonate with me until I walked into the property and it was like a 35-year backflip."

Two properties on Shellbank Ave, Mosman, also featured in the top 10.

They sold within days of each another after sitting on the market for up to two years.

Macquarie Bank chairman Nicholas Moore paid $13.15 million for the seven-bedroom home at No.25, while a West Australian mining executive spent $10.1 million on No.13.

The only unit to feature was a five-bedroom penthouse with rooftop putting green at 1/28 Billyard Ave, Elizabeth Bay, which sold for $12 million to a buyer widely tipped to be David Gonski, chairman of the Future Fund and architect of the Gonski review into school funding. It last traded for $14 million in 2006.

Impulse buys are also being made at the top end, with a Japanese buyer paying $11.7 million for 42 Vaucluse Rd, after the first inspection.

Agent Andrew Hennessy said the buyer fell in the love with the "gun barrel" Harbour views from the five-bedroom home and used a translator to seal the deal almost on the spot.

"He said he wanted it. We negotiated. It was a pretty much walk-in walk-out scenario," he said.

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